


A Minor Change in Pace

by starsnspace



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, everyone is friends and nothing hurts, fanfic #2, it didn't even happen here tbh, jk it better hurt some I was trying for angst at parts, kinda angsty I think, not canon with civil war, pepper and peter bonding time, tony is a terrible communicator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 00:58:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15425511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsnspace/pseuds/starsnspace
Summary: Peter regularly goes to the Avengers Compound to hang out with Mr. Stark. One weekend, the normalcy is ripped out from under him.or: when Tony is called for a dangerous mission, Peter and Pepper are left to worry and wait





	A Minor Change in Pace

It was just supposed to be a normal weekend with Mr. Stark. Peter would meet Happy outside Midtown High, regale him with stories from his week at school, pepper in a few tales about his time as Spider-Man (“and then the dude looked at me, high as a kite, and said ‘Is that a talking spider?’” he’d say), they’d stop for a snack before taking the two hour drive to the Avengers Compound in upstate New York. Peter would run out of the car before Happy had even stopped it fully, meet Mr. Stark in the lab, and not leave it until Sunday night when Happy picked him up to bring him back to May. 

It was supposed to be like that. That was the routine. Nice, fun, calm. 

But this weekend didn’t happen that way. 

Peter had followed the routine to a T, arriving at the Compound exactly two and a half hours after school let out. He had raced out of the car, quickly jogging to the elevator and asked FRIDAY to direct him to Mr. Stark. He made pleasant conversation with the AI about what he had been up to this past week, and when the doors opened, he walked to the lab, as calm as he could be.

But who could blame him? Tony Stark’s personal labs at the Avengers Compound were nothing short of brilliant. The far wall was made of bulletproof glass, giving the whole room a gorgeous view of the training grounds. The other walls were all made of concrete, with various screens taking up much of the free space. Throughout the room, ten work benches were haphazardly spread out, each dedicated to a new project or suit that Mr. Stark had decided was worth his time. Peter had been gifted a bench of his own, where he could work on his suit (“I’m giving you permission to work on your suit, but you may not disable Baby Monitoring Protocols.” “But Mr. Staaark.” “Nope, not hearing it.”) or other projects that Peter came up with. A single car, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, sat in the back corner, for Mr. Stark to work on whenever he needed a distraction.

Mr. Stark looked up from the gauntlet he was working on when he heard the door open. A small smile graced his face, and his eyes lit up as he saw Peter.

“Hey kid, you made it just in time, I just finished the updates I had for this Mark and was about to test it out. You in?” the billionaire asked Peter, who eagerly nodded. Peter set his bag down near his desk and sped over to where Mr. Stark was preparing to fire it up. After running through all the tests the two could come up with, ranging from repulsion blasts to dexterity practice, the heroes were satisfied with the new tech. Of course, Peter had to break the spell when his stomach growled.

“Jeez kid, didn’t you just-shit its already 8:50? Damn okay let’s get you fed before it’s the baby’s bedtime,” Mr. Stark teased. 

“Are you sure you aren’t trying to hide the fact that your old man bones can’t keep up with me?” snarked Peter. Mr. Stark let out a surprised laugh and led the kid out of the lab.

“FRIDAY, order up some Italian, I’m in the mood for some Carbonara. And make sure there’s a lot, the kid’s a bottomless pit, and Pepper is coming in tonight too, so she might have some.”

“On it, Boss,” replied the AI.

“Go take a shower, Pete, you stink. I need one too, so I’ll meet you in the dining room in 15. Sound good?”

Peter grinned up at his mentor. “Sounds great!” he replied.

The two split off when they reached Mr. Stark’s personal rooms, with Peter heading to his room. It was originally a guest room, but it quickly became his. Spare clothes littered the floor, and books and Legos lined the shelves. It was nothing like his room at his and May’s house, but it was perfect. He stripped quickly and hopped in the shower, letting out a sigh as the oil and grease washed off his body. After scrubbing himself down and drying off, Peter dressed in his favorite hoodie, one he stole from Mr. Stark (“Kid, you’re freezing, take this.” “thanks, Mr. Stark, I promise I’ll give it back.” “Yeah, whatever.”).

He walked out of his room and heard quiet murmuring. Rounding the corner, Peter saw Mr. Stark and Pepper Potts talking. The two were discussing their days but kept shooting small smiles at each other that warmed Peter’s heart. Mr. Stark was had over heel sin love with her, and Pepper was the same. He tried to stay as quiet as possible, but his stomach wasn’t following the plan and let out a loud growl. The couple’s eyes snapped to Peter, who was quickly turning beet-red.

“Um…hi Pepper! Welcome back! Who’s ready to eat?” Peter asked hurriedly, willing his blush to fade. 

The two adults let out a laugh, but Pepper replied, “Peter, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages it seems, let’s sit down and eat some and catch up.”

Pepper lead the boys to the table, and they began to eat. It was so domestic, so much like a family, Peter could cry. He loved hanging out with Mr. Stark, he loved talking to Pepper (“Sure, you’ll call her by her first name but not me, even when I’ve told you to like a million times?” “Mr. Stark, you’re not scary. Pepper is scary I will do literally whatever she tells me to”), but most of all, Peter loved how loved he felt here. 

When they finished eating, Peter left, stating exhaustion, to give the lovebirds some time alone. Pepper had been flying all around the world for business and hadn’t been home for more than a day in the past month. They deserved some time to be together.

The next morning, FRIDAY awoke Peter bright and early, and informed him of the pancakes that awaited him in the kitchen. He groaned, but got up, and made his way to the kitchen.  
Pepper and Mr. Stark were already there, both enjoying their breakfasts. Peter had barely sat down when Mr. Stark’s phone began to ring. The man in question rolled his eyes, but picked up the phone, and walked out of the room to get some privacy. Must be Avengers business, Peter thought. Even though he was out of the room, Peter and Pepper could still see Mr. Stark through a window as he got pale and his eyes widened. He shoved his phone in his pocket and came back into the room. 

“Pepper, Pete, I have to go. There’s an alien invasion over Tokyo happening as we speak, they’re scrambling the other Avengers too, but I have to go. Peter, no you cannot come May would murder me, stay here,” Mr. Stark glared at him, seeing the boy about to volunteer his help. Dejected, he sat back in his seat.

“Tony, please, do you have to go? The others are on their way they can do it by themselves,” Pepper pleaded, hating Iron Man more than ever.

“Pep, you know I have to. Don’t worry too much, I’ll be fine.”

“Fine. But be safe, don’t take any unnecessary risks. Keep us updated,” Pepper replied. Mr. Stark gave her a nod, and a kiss, before turning around and heading down to procure a suit. The room was silent, save for the whirring of the coffee machine, as Peter and Pepper sat.

(----)

Three hours later, the room was no longer silent. Peter and Pepper had migrated to the living room and were anxiously watching the television. Every station was covering the invasion, and the Avengers had just arrived. The Hulk was out to play too, which meant that it was a lot worse than expected. News crews focused heavily on Iron Man and War Machine as they flew around the city and targeted the alien aircrafts. Each time an explosion went off, Pepper flinched, waiting for the Iron Man suit to start falling out of the sky.

“He’s okay Pepper, he’s Tony Stark, he’ll be fine,” Peter placated, even though he wasn’t quite sure who he was trying to reassure, her or himself. Peter, too, was on edge. He could feel his Spidey sense at the base of his neck, tingling lightly in warning. Nothing was happening here though, he knew it was just anxiety about Mr. Stark. 

“I know, Peter, I just…worry. I’ve been with Tony, in some capacity, since before he was Iron Man. He’s my best friend. I worry about him. Someone has to, you know. The world thinks he’s indestructible, practically immortal. He saves the world time and time again, always looking out for everyone. But no one ever seems to be looking out for him.” 

Pepper gave Peter a long look. He could see the worry lines between her eyes, prominent against her flawless skin. But she looked so tired. Her eyes had dark bags under them, which Peter knew she hid with make-up, but her concealer had worn off during the day. Pepper’s normally calculating blue eyes were bloodshot and weary, almost resigned to the life she led. It was disquieting to see the most powerful woman in the world so helpless.

“We look out for him though. We’re his family, we take care of him,” Peter replied, unsure of what to say to such a depressing thought.

Pepper gave the teen a glance, a bare hint of a smile on her face. “You’re right, Peter, we’re- OH MY GOD!” she screamed.

Peter jerked his head to the screen, just in time to see Iron Man fall from the sky. Pepper reached for the remote to turn up the volume, but her hands were shaking, and it tumbled from her grasp. Peter jumped up and grabbed it, quickly setting it to a suitable sound.

“-Just in: Iron Man, otherwise known as Tony Stark, has been hit with an energy blast and has fallen 2,000 feet. Reports are coming in that the blasts disable electronics, causing the suit to malfunction and short-circuit. There is no word on Iron Man’s condition at this time. We will keep you updated as this story unfolds further,” the reporter stated as the screen replayed the video of Mr. Stark being shot and plummeting to the ground below.

Pepper let out a shriek, clawing at the couch desperately. Peter barely registered her pain as he stared at the screen, reading the news crawl (Iron Man has been hit with alien blast; no word on condition). He heard Pepper saying ‘no’ and ‘please’ over and over again, as though her prays would keep Mr. Stark alive. All Peter could hear was Pepper’s whimpering, all he could see was Mr. Stark falling from the sky with no one to catch him, and suddenly it was all too much.

Peter stood up rigidly and walked into his room. He gently closed the door, making sure it was fully shut, and began sobbing. He dropped to his knees and curled up in a ball. He cried for what felt like hours, but was really only like five minutes, before he had the courage to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was Mr. Stark’s hoodie. The one he stole. Grabbing it and hugging it close to his body, Peter breathed in the lingering scent of Mr. Stark. Motor oil, whiskey, and his favorite Armani cologne. He was immediately comforted, and his sensory overload released its hold on him. Peter could hear Pepper cursing the screen still, and knew that in this moment, they needed to be together.

He shakily rose, willing his knees to not buckle, and left his room. Instead of going back to the living room, he veered towards Mr. Stark and Pepper’s bedroom. He walked inside and found Mr. Stark’s closet. Rows and rows of expensive suits, glasses, and shoes greeted the teen. He passed them without a glance, eyes narrowing in on what he came for. Grabbing the article of clothing, Peter returned to the living room and sat next to a stone-faced Pepper.

“I thought you might want to hold onto this while we wait, I grabbed this for me,” Peter murmured, holding up Mr. Stark’s hoodie, and the Black Sabbath shirt that Mr. Stark always seemed to be wearing. Seeing the shirt brought fresh tears to Pepper’s eyes.

“I,” her voice cracked, “I’ve always hated that shirt.” She grabbed at it greedily, though, and pulled it on over her long-sleeved shirt. Once the two were properly clothed in their borrowed gear, Pepper grabbed Peter’s hand. 

“Now, we wait,” she said simply, turning her head back to the screen as the formidable Pepper Potts made her appearance. 

The two kept vigil well throughout the day. No new reports had been released, as after Mr. Stark had gone down, news crews had evacuated, and only personal videos were being shown. A few showed Captain America bringing down three aliens outside of a MacDonald’s, one showed Hawkeye shooting an alien on a hoverboard from half a mile away, and another showed Black Widow and Scarlett Witch teaming up to bring down at least ten of the monstrous invaders. But none showed Tony Stark. 

After six straight hours on the couch, Pepper had gotten up to get sandwiches for the two. Even though she couldn’t stomach the thought of eating at a time like this, Peter had a metabolism faster than a cheetah and if she didn’t eat, he wouldn’t either, and Tony wouldn’t forgive her for letting his kid starve on her watch. She left Peter with strict instructions to keep watch and left. 

“Pepper, get in here now!” shouted Peter. She dropped the knife she was holding and bolted. On the screen, the ship the aliens had arrived on began exploding. Each section burst into flames, and the entire vessel careened to the left. It began to fall from the sky, but somehow managed to miss the skyscrapers of Tokyo. It crashed into the bay, creating huge waves.

“We are now getting word that the Avengers are accounted for and have confirmed that with the destruction of the ship, have been neutralized. I repeat, the alien invasion over Tokyo has been neutralized. Many thanks to the Avengers for their literally lifesaving work,” the reporter enthused, a relieved smile on her face.

But Pepper and Peter were neither thankful, nor relieved. The reporter had said that the Avengers had been accounted for, not that they were alive, or okay. Pepper stood up and reached for her cell. 

“I’m going to try calling them, one of them has to know if Tony’s okay,” Pepper stated in a no-nonsense tone. She dialed and put the phone up to her ear. Peter watched her anxiously, willing the receiver to pick up the goddamn phone. Pepper tried the next person, and another. After going through her contact list, and not getting a single answer, Pepper began pacing.

“He can’t be gone, he can’t. We’re getting married in six months, does he think he can miss that and I’ll be okay with it? Someone better answer their fucking phone right now or I swear to god I’m going to- “ 

Pepper’s phone began ringing.

The two stared at the phone as it rang, a happy little plucking noise sounding from her phone. Hesitantly, Pepper reached for the phone, and answered the call.

“…hello? Who is this? Oh, Tony!” Pepper cried, falling heavily to the floor. She began sobbing uncontrollably. Peter’s eyes teared up in earnest, he knew in that moment that his world was irrevocably changed. Pepper saw Peter’s teary face and motioned for him to join her in her grief. He walked over on shaky legs and sat down next to her. Suddenly, Pepper put the phone in his hands.

“What happened to him?” Peter cried. Peter had to know what killed his idol, first celebrity, and then personal hero.

“Hey kid, it’s me. Tony. Mr. Stark. Whatever you want to call me,” the man in question joked. “I’m okay. I promise. I’ll be home soon, and I’ll tell you everything, you and Pepper, I swear. I called as soon as I could, the alien tech short circuited all the electronics in a 5-mile radius, we couldn’t get anything out.”

“…you’re alive? Oh, thank God!” 

“I am. Pete, you and Pepper make sure to get some rest, I’m sure she’s been worried sick all day, try and get some sleep and when I’m back I’ll fill you in.”

Peter assured him that he would get Pepper to sleep some and handed the phone back to the woman in question. She looked like she was gearing up for a world-class lecture but held off when Mr. Stark told her something. She sighed, looked at Peter, and assured him that she and Peter would be alright for the next few hours.

After hanging up, the two cried tears of joy for a few more minutes. After that, Pepper would allow no more tears to fall and ushered Peter into the shower to relax him before sending him to nap. She promised to do the same, and before Peter knew it, he was being shaken awake.

“Pete. Pete, wake up, I wanna talk to you,” a soft voice crooned. Peter opened his bleary eyes and saw a man standing over him. He jerked up and stared.

“Tony? You’re home!” Peter tried his best to jump up to hug him, but instead got tangled up in his sheets and fell face first onto the ground.

“’Tony’, hmm? All I have to do is almost die and now you start using my name, is that it?” Tony teased.

Peter groaned, wanting to die, but stood up and hugged Tony. He breathed in the scent of the older man and knew without a doubt that this couldn’t be a dream because there was no way his imagination could remember Tony’s scent that well.

The man brought him out into the kitchen, where Pepper sat, looking slightly more rested than she had all day. The two joined her at the table, where Peter and Pepper looked at Tony expectantly.

“So, first off, I want to apologize, I tried to get word out to you two as soon as we had a plan, but we could barely use the Comms, nothing was transmitting. When we touched down in Tokyo, we knew that this race was similar to the Chitauri, in the sense that if you can take out the leaders, the rest will die. Rhodey and I were tasked with figuring out how to do just that. We made a couple laps of the ship, FRIDAY figured out some of its weakest points, and before we did anything, we noticed that they were targeting me, specifically. So, we took Iron Man out of the equation. I got out of the suit and told FRIDAY to fly her directly into a hit from the blasters.”

“You did WHAT now?” Pepper seethed.

“I had a plan I swear,” Tony placated. Pepper raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, motioning with her hand to continue.

“Anyway, I brought a prototype along with me. Essentially, it has the cloaking technology that we use in the Quinjets. I never travel without at least three suits, you know that, but this one was perfect. Before FRIDAY dropped me off I had her launched that one to my location. I flew into- don’t get mad- into the ship. Through a port that was empty, and then I just placed some bombs, activated them, and got the hell outta Dodge. It helped that I was able to direct the ship into the bay to minimize damage, too. Without the cloaking I wouldn’t have been able to sneak through the ship, there were some close calls, but the aliens needed to think that I was out of the picture so that I could do my thing. I never meant to worry you two, I’m so sorry, but it had to be done.”

Tony finished his tale with a sigh. Pepper looked angry enough to fight one of the aliens herself, and Peter, well, Peter wasn’t sure what to think. He was upset, of course, who in their right mind wouldn’t be? But Peter knew, deep inside, that to be angry would be hypocritical, because if it was up to him, he’d do the same thing. 

“I forgive you,” Peter stated in a clear voice. “I get why you had to do it, and even though Pepper and I were worried sick, it makes sense what you did. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Pepper raised an eyebrow at the teen and turned to Tony. “I do not forgive you, not yet, give me time. I understand why you do what you do, but this Iron Man business worries me to death. Please, for the state of my sanity and for your own safety, don’t ever do something like that again or I swear on Peter’s life I will leave you.”

“I promise. I will never intentionally destroy a suit you think I’m in, and I’ll keep you as informed as possible while on a mission. I love you Pep, and I love you too Peter. You’re my family.”

Pepper and Peter made eye contact, remembering their earlier conversation, and as one, got up to hug Tony. They were Tony Stark’s family, and he was theirs, and nothing more could touch them today.

**Author's Note:**

> hi!! didn't think I'd pump another one out so quick, but that's the beauty of one shots, you don't have to put more than a day into them! (if you're like me that is and you can't stand to reread your own work so you just post it and hope spellcheck does some magic and doesn't let you be a comma fiend like I am) anyway have fun let me know if this is angsty enough?? bond-y enough? in-character enough? thanks for reading!


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